Don't Stop Me Now
}} | released = 5 January 1979 | format = 7" | recorded = August 1978 at Super Bear Studios (Berre-les-Alpes, France) | studio = | venue = | genre = Pop rock | length = }} | label = | writer = Freddie Mercury | producer = | prev_title = Bicycle Race | prev_title2 = Fat Bottomed Girls | prev_year = 1978 | next_title = Mustapha | next_year = 1979 | misc = }} "Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by the British rock band Queen, featured on their 1978 album Jazz that was released as a single in 1979. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in Berre-les-Alpes (Alpes-Maritimes), France, and is the twelfth track on the album.Jazz - Don't Stop Me Now Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2 July 2011 Musically the song builds on Mercury's piano playing, with John Deacon and Roger Taylor providing a bass guitar and drums backing track. The song also provides an example of Queen's trademark style of multitrack harmony vocals for the chorus lines.Donald A. Guarisco, "Don't Stop Me Now". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011 The song also appears in the band's 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits, and in June 2011, as part of Queen's 40th anniversary celebrations, an old take of the song containing more guitar parts was included on the bonus EP of the re-released and remastered Jazz album.Queen Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011Jazz (Remastered) Queen iTunes. Retrieved 12 July 2011 Reception The single reached number 9 in the UK charts but only number 86 in the US; as the album was a top-10 hit, the song got some airplay on U.S. album-oriented rock stations despite its low chart ranking as a single. Despite this the song has grown in stature with time and has been popularised not only by consistent airplay, but by its use in advertisements, television programmes and films, and through cover versions. It has subsequently become one of Queen's most popular songs.Official: Top 25 karaoke songs The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2011Queen interview: Brian May on Don't Stop Me Now Absolute Radio. Retrieved 21 December 2011Don't Stop Me Now Tops HMV Lyric Poll Queen Online. Retrieved 21 December 2011 The song was voted as the third best Queen song by readers of Rolling Stone, who noted that "time has also been very kind to it and it's widely seen now as one of the group's best works." The single also has reached Platinum status in the United Kingdom. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that the "astonishing" song "may be Queen’s greatest song of all." He felt it was "a direct product of Mercury's hedonism and promiscuity: an unrepentant, joyous, utterly irresistible paean to gay pleasure-seeking. You find yourself wondering if its title might not have been aimed at his censorious bandmates." Music video The video for the song was directed by J. Kliebenstein and filmed at the Forest National, Brussels, Belgium on 26 January 1979. Live performances Viewed at the time of release as one of the lesser songs in the Queen canon, it was only performed live during 1979, with the last performance in the Crazy Tour.Queen live on tour: Crazy tour Queen Concerts. Retrieved 2 July 2011 On the studio version, Brian May's only guitar playing is in his guitar solo, but on live versions performed on the band's 1979 Jazz and Crazy tours, May would also play rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the song to give more of a feel of rock music. A live version of the song features in the band's 1979 album Live Killers.Live Killers Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011 Single On the Japanese, USA, Canadian and Australian release, "More Of That Jazz" was the B-side. In popular culture *In 2005, this song was voted as "The Greatest Driving Song Ever" by viewers of the BBC television program Top Gear.Queen win Top Gears Best Driving Song ever poll Queen Zone. Retrieved 28 May 2011 *This song was included in the list of songs for use in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, and it was released in the Soviet Union that same year alongside Queen's Jealousy single. *In 2015, the electronics company Alba conducted a survey of 2000 UK adults, which asked respondents to name their favourite uplifting song, and 'Don't Stop Me Now' was the most popular response. Usage in media * A live concert video of "Don't Stop Me Now," assembled with cuts taken from concerts filmed on 26 & 27 January 1979 at Forest National, Brussels, Belgium, was featured in the end credits of the 2018 film ''Bohemian Rhapsody''. *The song's use in a scene for the zombie/comedy film Shaun of the Dead, where the main characters attack a zombie to the song's beat was well received by critics. *The song was used as part of the climactic fight scene in the movie "Hardcore Henry". *The song was also used in numerous commercials through the years spanning from Visa to Heineken. *The song and this Wikipedia page is an important plot point in Hank Green's book An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Sales and certifications Personnel Queen *Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, piano *Brian May – electric guitar, backing vocals *Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, tambourine, triangle, backing vocals *John Deacon – bass guitar Cover versions Notable cover versions include: * McFly, the cover is the official song for Sport Relief 2006. It reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 29 July 2006.Unstoppable McFly top music chart BBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2011 * The Vandals, on their 2004 album Hollywood Potato Chip. * The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. * Foxes covered the song on the 11 October 2014 "Mummy on the Orient Express" episode of Doctor Who. A music video was subsequently released by the BBC to publicize series 8 of the rebooted show. Chart positions * United Kingdom – #9 * Ireland – #10 * Netherlands – #14 * Germany – #35 * Sweden – #37 * United States – #86 * Australia – #53 References External links * Category:Queen (band) songs Category:1979 singles Category:McFly songs Category:Songs written by Freddie Mercury Category:Song recordings produced by Roy Thomas Baker Category:Number-one singles in Scotland Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:EMI Records singles Category:Elektra Records singles Category:Hollywood Records singles Category:British power pop songs